Contents

Early
life

Cugoano was born in 1757 near Ajumako, modern day Ghana.[1] He was a Fanti.[1] His family was friends with
the local chief. At the age of 13 he was sold into slavery and sent
to Grenada.[1]He remained in the West
Indies until he was purchased by an English merchant. He was taken to England and
in 1772 and was baptized with the name John Stuart. He obtained his
freedom in England.

Abolitionist

In 1784, he was employed as a servant by the artists Richard Cosway
and his wife, Maria. This was a turning point in
Cugoano’s life, since through the Cosways he came to the attention
of leading British political and cultural figures of the time,
including poet William Blake and the Prince of
Wales. Together with Olaudah Equiano and other educated
Africans living in Britain, he was active in the Sons of Africa, an
abolitionist group that wrote frequently to the newspapers of the
day, condemning the practice of slavery. In 1786 he played a key
role in the case of Henry Demane, a kidnapped black man who was to
be shipped back to the West Indies. He contacted Granville
Sharp, a well known Abolitionist and was able to have Demane
removed before the ship sailed. [2]

In 1787 with the help of his friend Olaudah Equiano, he published an
account of his life as a slave, Thoughts and Sentiments on the
Evil of Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species (1787). By
now a devout Christian, his work was rich with
religious undertones. The narrative calls for the complete
abolition of slavery and immediate emancipation of all slaves. It argues that
the slave's duty is to escape from slavery, and that force should
be used to prevent further enslavement. The narrative was sent to
King George III and
other leading politicians. It failed to persuade the king to change his opinion;
George III, along with much of the royal family remained against the
abolition of the slave trade.

Four years later, in 1791, Cugoano released a shorter version of
his book, addressed to the "Sons of Africa." In it, he expressed
qualified support for the failed British efforts to establish a
colony for London’s Black Poor in Sierra Leone and called for the
establishment of schools in Britain especially for African
students.